


There Comes a Time

by Sunsetnymph



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Harry Potter Being an Idiot, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Post-War, Sexual Tension, bc these boys are so dumb, but we love them anyways, harry isnt actually oblivious, he just minds his own business, however
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25367227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunsetnymph/pseuds/Sunsetnymph
Summary: alright yall know the drill its a Hogwarts eighth year drarry fic
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 64





	1. Chapter One

They’re not quite sure when it happened. When arguments turned to banter and anger into amusement. Somewhere along the way they stopped hating each other and began to enjoy their exchanges in the hallways or Great Hall. You could almost say they had become friends, but to the outside observer it seemed like their normal behavior. However, there was often a real smile hiding behind Draco’s smirk and joy had replaced the fire in Harry’s eyes. There grew an unspoken truce between them and an understanding of the need to maintain appearances. They may not know what changed that made them friends, but they could never forget how it became more. Harry may be practically blind, but even he could see the tension between them and he wasn’t oblivious to the way Draco flirted with him. He also wasn’t oblivious to the way he flirted back. They both knew putting words to these feelings could ruin their unspoken friendship. Not to mention they were already the center of a lot of Hogwarts’ gossip and really didn’t want to fuel that flame. 

Harry wasn’t nearly as oblivious as people may think. He knew Dean and Seamus fancied each other, even if they wouldn’t admit it to themselves. He knew Ron and Hermione would never be just friends. He was aware of the girls, and some boys, who fancied him and always stared just a little too long to be comfortable. Harry was aware of all of this the same way he was aware that him and Draco weren’t actually enemies. He was aware that the tension between them wasn’t made of anger and that their fights were mostly to gain one another’s attention. Harry realized this the same way he realized that when the war came they would be on different sides. As the war got closer and closer he knew that any change in their antagonistic relationship could get Draco hurt. He couldn’t be seen associating with The Harry Potter without being considered a traitor. This wasn’t a game anymore, there were brutal consequences and no room for mistakes. 

He hadn’t been expecting Draco to choose him as the battle reached its peak, throwing him his wand as the final showdown truly began. He never did get a chance to thank him for that, but hopefully he repaid some of that debt by testifying in Draco and Narcissa’s trials. He owed his life to both of them and had no intention of forgetting that. Harry expected that to be the end of it, the final chapter in their odd relationship. Maybe they would run into each other years from now, both married and with families of their own. Maybe they would acknowledge each other and remember what could have been. What almost was. But then he received a letter inviting all seventh years back for a final eighth year to receive the education they had missed during the war. It wouldn’t be perfect, it would be hard but maybe that’s what he needs to heal. Maybe this was his chance at a fresh start, to be a semi-normal kid going to school. To be a teenager without a war hanging over his head. And maybe Draco would come back too and they could finally acknowledge what they’ve both known and felt for years.


	2. Hogwarts too?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the boys are at hogwarts now!
> 
> \--  
> I think I will continue this story but I'm marking it as complete bc I have no time frame and I think the story can stand on its own so far

Rebuilding the castle went much faster than Harry expected it to. Part of him thought they would arrive for their eighth year to find the castle just as they’d left it. Not many students in his year returned, this final eighth year contained seven from Gryffindor, three Ravenclaws, three Hufflepuffs, and five from Slytherin. The rest of their year simply didn’t return to Hogwarts, or never left the battlefield. 

What he hadn’t been expecting was for McGonagall to meet the eight years at the entrance to tell them they would be staying all together in the newly made eighth year wing. He also wasn’t expecting her to say they would be staying two to a room, and that in the spirit of inter-house unity their roommate would be from a different house. He was actually expecting to be paired with Malfoy. Not just because that’s how his luck is, but because he knew just as well as McGonagall that the rest of the school would be looking to him to be the example. His rivalry with Malfoy was well known, and if the two of them could put aside their differences, the Savior and the Death Eater, it would carry a lot of influence.

Malfoy seems to have been expecting it too, as he says nothing when he sees his name next to Harry’s, and simply walks to the dorm. They both know they’re not really enemies and haven’t been for years. Harry thought it might be awkward walking into the dorm, being alone with Malfoy for the first time in what feels like years. They haven’t even had a real conversation since sixth year, and Harry’s pretty sure that one doesn’t even count after he almost killed Malfoy. 

He’s expecting it to be awkward, but it’s not. Malfoy seems withdrawn and drained, nothing like the fiery confidence and spirit he once graced Hogwarts with. They unpack in an easy silence, but Harry can’t help but observe Malfoy from the corner of his eye. Seeing him like this might have once made him happy years ago, but now it just makes him sad. Malfoy has lost everything to a war he clearly never wanted any part in. His reputation has never been so low and the papers conveniently ignore his efforts to help the light side and focus on the mark on his arm. They overlook the fact that he was a child without a choice, who still managed to do the right thing when it came down to it. This ignorant hatred has followed him to Hogwarts too, in the looks the students give him, the taunts, the jeers. They’ve somehow forgotten he fought at their side. They’ve forgotten it was his wand in Harry’s hand that was the final piece of the puzzle, that without it Voldemort would have won.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope yall liked it! I wrote this at 3am so if there's typos feel free to let me know :) Let me know if you would like this story to be continued! Comments are much appreciated!!


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